With a season-best split time of 57.07 seconds among its top five runners, the Herculaneum High School boys cross country team won the Class 3 District 1 championship with 41 points.
At the state qualifying meet on the 3.1-mile (5K) course at Arcadia Valley High in Ironton on Nov. 1, the Blackcats ran personal-best times almost across the board. Freshman Noah Fitzgerald emerged as Herculaneum’s pack leader from the start of the season, and he finished third in the district with a PR of 16:23.58.
“Noah’s a front-runner. He’s just now figuring out how to break through that first wall,” Herculaneum head coach Kyle Davis said.
Evan Moll, a senior at Collegiate School of Med-Bioscience, won the race in 16:03.44.
The top two teams and 30 runners in each district qualified for the state meet at Gans Creek in Columbia on Friday. Each team sends seven runners into the race and the top five times are scored. Med-Bio was second with 54 points.
“When you have your best split all year and your No. 1 (Fitzgerald) runs his best time ever, you’re in good shape. All but one of our guys ran a PR,” said Davis, who is the head coach of the Herculaneum boys and girls teams, and has led both to state titles. “Nobody really ran like a hero. They all did what they are capable of and that’s confirmation of what we’re capable of (at state).”
Junior Allen Wallman (sixth, 16:52.41), senior Nathan Clampet (seventh, 16:53.85), sophomore Owen Davis (ninth, 17:04.26) and senior Brandon Marshall (16th, 17:20.65) completed the top five for the Blackcats. Sophomore Austin Baer (19th, 17:23.44) and senior Joseph Stahl (33rd, 17:44.36) rounded out their state roster. Owen is Kyle’s son.
“We had a little bit of a breakthrough from Wallman,” Davis said. “We knew what he was capable of and he got a monkey off his back and ran the best race of his life. He was smiling in the middle of the race and gaining a sense of fun.”
Marshall, Clampet, Wallman and Stahl all ran at state last year when Herky finished eighth.
West Plains High has the most state titles (14) of any boys team in the state. The Blackcats (13) are second and both teams are capable of adding another to the list. The Zizzers and Festus High (11 state titles) will do battle on Friday for Class 4 supremacy.
“Postseason is in our blood,” Davis said. “When it’s time to go at the end, you’ve got to be ready to roll. Physically, we train for having a big payoff.”
The same can be said for the Herky girls, who, after winning District 1 with 43 points, will go to Columbia well fit to capture their 12th state title and first since 2012. West Plains has won the most girls state crowns (14).
Cape Girardeau Notre Dame had the top two finishers – sophomore Martina Ressel, first, 17:57.25, and senior Lily Coy, second, 18:16.67 – and was second with 53 points.
St. Charles West High has won the last three state titles and the Warriors posted the top two runners and won District 3 in Linn on Nov. 1. West junior Brianna Krueger is the defending individual state champion.
“We knew Cape Notre Dame was going to be a top team,” Davis said. “St. Charles West would love to four-peat and they’ve got the weapons to do it.”
Davis said the Blackcat girls top five split of 1:02 was their best of the year. The Herky order of finish was sophomore Amaya Ferguson (fifth, 19:37.35), sophomore Brylee Wishard (eighth, 19:56.79), junior Emerson Reeves (ninth, 20:19.85), junior Finley Hamtil (13th, 20:28.43), sophomore Aubrianna Shadowens (17th, 20:39.42), sophomore Khloe Black (23rd, 21:03.43) and sophomore Rylie Pruett (24th, 21:03.76).
“The performance of the day on both sides (boys and girls) was from Brylee Wishard,” Davis said.
Metzler paces Lancers with school-record time
St. Pius X senior Jayden Metzler won the Class 2 District 1 meet at Arcadia Valley on Nov. 1 with a school-record time of 15:56.14, shattering the old time of 16:18.
In doing so, Metzler qualified for the state championships for the fourth time and will run at Gans Creek on Saturday. Classes 3-5 are Friday and 1-2 are Saturday. Metzler has two state medals and his highest finish was 15th in 2023.
Metzler said Arcadia Valley is his favorite course because it’s flat.
“As soon as the gun shot off, I went out super quick and had a kid from Woodland (senior Calvin Layton, second in 16:16.73) behind me halfway through the race, but after the mile-and-a-half mark, I took my chance and made a gap and started going faster and faster,” Metzler said. “Once I got back to that switchback, my arms felt super heavy and tired, and I almost slipped and fell because my leg muscles tensed up, but then I saw the finish line.”
It was the second week in a row Metzler set a PR. His school record beat his last time at the Northwest High Last Chance in House Springs by 30 seconds.
“I train for a good base at the start of the season and more for speed in the middle of the season,” he said.
When Metzler runs state at Gans Creek for a fourth time, he said his plan is to play it smart and not go out too fast with the lead pack.
“Once we hit the second mile, I can start picking people off and make my way to the top. The course conditions are good for me,” Metzler said.
Metzler is uncommitted to a college, but said his new PR has opened up more college choices.
Joining him at state for the Lancers are freshman Noah Statzel (ninth, 17:09.86) and senior Elijah Bishop (29th, 18:08.19).
The St. Pius girls also competed at Arcadia Valley and senior Taylor Robinson made the state cut in 17th in 22:18.91.
The Jefferson boys had four of the top eight runners in District 1 and punched their ticket to state with a second-place finish with 69 points. Woodland won with 41 points.
Jefferson was one spot from a team trophy in 2024 and returned every runner. The Blue Jays district order of finish was junior Bryant Horn (fourth, 16:49.37), sophomore Karter Bradshaw (sixth, 17:03.46), senior Braeden Caldwell (seventh, 17:07.25), senior Ethan McVey (eighth, 17:09.24), sophomore Tyson Jefferson (49th, 19:10.01), senior Mathew Waltman (55th, 19:27.12) and senior Levi Heacock (62nd, 19:37.17). Horn had the team’s highest state finish (16th) last year.
At the Class 1 District 1 meet at Oak Ridge on Nov. 1, two Crystal City girls qualified for state. Freshman Makensie Gee was fifth in 22:50.97 and sophomore Karly Klamert was 25th in 25:29.10.
East Carter High (76 points) and Brentwood High (84) were the two girls state qualifiers in District 1. Jefferson was seventh with 148, and senior Emerson Selsor (ninth, 21:02.16) and sophomore Avery Humphrey (23rd, 22:29.52) will run at state for the Blue Jays. Selsor is a three-time state medalist and was second in 2023.